Shiftable car-sign.



Y PATBNTEB Nov; 1G, 19`o3. s; H; BARNEY.

t SHIFTABLE' GAR SIGN.

* APPLIUATIVON FILED 00T.A 16, 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

H0 MODEL.

' invention to the root` thereof.

i No. 743,676.

UNITED STATES f vPATENT v Patented November l0, 1993.

rines.

SHIFTABLE CAR-SIGN.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 743,676, dated November 10, 19031 Application led October 16, 1902iy Serial No. 127,511. (No model.)

T0 @ZZ whom t 10Q/ay concern:

Be it known that I, Evnnn'rfr H. BARNnY, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at Springfield, in the county of Hampden and State of llassachusetts,have invented new and useful Improvements in Shiftable Car-Signs, of "which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to signs for streetcars andanalogous uses signs must be from time to time changed, the object of this invention being to provide a sign of this construction so arranged that as applied to a street-car, for example, all of the signs-that is, those on either end of the car and on either side thereof-may be si; mnltaneously shifted.

A further object is to provide a'car-sign of this character in which the exposedsigns may be made legible at night Without the use of separate lamps by means of light reflected onto the back side thereof fromthe lamps ordinarily used for lighting the interior of the car.

A still further object of the invention lies in the provision of means Wherebya conductor or motorman in changing thesigns from the platform of a car may oe able to determine by means of indicators visible from the platform Whether the proper signs are exposed without being obliged to step o the car for this purpose.A

Having these ends in View, my invention consists of a flexible sign-conveyersupported on suitable wheels located at the pointe of turning and provided with a suitable housing, in which openings are made at points where the sign is exposed. This conveyer may be rotated in either direction, and at certain points in the housing openings are pro-v vided through which the signs may be changed.

In the drawings forniing part of this ap-Y plication, VFigure l is a perspective view of a trolley-car, showing the application of my Fig. l is a vertical section taken longitudinally of the car through the roof. Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line 2 2, Fig. 1.l Fig. 3 is a perspective viewof a portion of the housing within which the flexible conveyer and the sign move. Fig. 4 is a sectional plan view through one Where .the exposed;

v.corner of the housing, showing the flexible.

conveyer for the sign and a wheel to support and move this conveyor. Fig. 5 is an enlarged perspective View of a portion of the housing and flexible conveyer and a portion of a sign, showing one manner of connecting the sign-with the conveyor. Fig. 5a is a vertical section on the line 5a 5, Fig. 5. Fig. 6 Ais a perspective View of a portion of the housing, showing a slit through the upper side thereof whereby access may be had to a sign. A portion of a slide covering this slit is also shown. Fig. 7 is a modification of the construction shown in the other figures and illustrates a construction and application of the invention as applied to advertising purposes. Fig. 8 is a sectional plan view of one corner of the housing, showing a sign-conveyor in the form of a metallic ribbon and a wheel located at the turn for supporting and moving the conveyor. Fig. 8a illustrates a portion of the metallic ribbon-conveyor shown in Fig. 8 and a portion of a signin perspective and illustrates the mode of attaching the sign to the ribbon.

, Referring now to the drawings, ct may indicate the roof of a car, and b the usual deck, running along the central portion of the roof from end to end. Each end of this deck has a window c therein, as shown in Figs. l and 2, and along the sides of the deck there are the usual windows d. At each of the four corners of the roof c there is located a casting ef (shown in Fig. 3,) which consists of a anged base to bescrewed to the roof of the car and a vertical tubular extension to receive a shaftf, the opposite ends of which are adaptedv to receive either a crank g, as shown, or other means for rotating it, one end of this shaft being accessible from the platform and the opposite end from the roof of the car.- Between the ends of this shaft f there is fixed thereon awheel h, preferably a sprocket-wheel as shown in Figs. 4 and 8 of the drawings, and on this sprocket'- wheel, mounted on the shaft f, there is supported la iiexible conveyor, which should be of some non-elastic construction, such as a thin metal ribbon (indicated by c' in Figs. 8 and 8a) or a chain, (indicated by j and shown in Figs. 1 and 4 particularly.)V There is located under this conveyor a bar prefere-hl y I in the shape of a flat metal bar set on edge,

and to the sides of this bar there is secured a metal housing m, which may be made by bending up a flat inverted strip to U-shaped form, having substantially parallel sides separated one from the other by a distance equaling the thickness of the bar, and the edges of'the housing so formed may by rivets or bolts (indicated by n) be secured to the sides of said bar la. At each corner of the car the housing is adapted to be filled in at the corner, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4t, for example, by o, to inclose the sprocket-wheel. The bar and housing may be secured to the roof of the carin any convenient manner, as by .means of clips p, Fig. 3, located at suitable points along the side and ends of the car between the corners which are supported on the casting e.

The above-described construction provides in the bar k means for supporting the conveyer in its movement from one sprocketwheel to another, and the housing may act as a guide for the upper edge of a sign carried by the conveyer.

The bar la need not necessarily be carried around the curves at the corners; but the side and end pieces thereof may terminate at or near the beginning of said turns.

The signs may be made of any thin pliable material, but preferably of thin sheet-steel, and the letters may be cutout, as in making a stencil, in the manner shown in Fig. 5. These signs (indicated by q) may be secured to the conveyer, whether the latter be in the form of a chain or a metal ribbon, in any suitable way whereby they may be easily made to engage with said conveyer or disengaged therefrom. A convenient method is'shown in the drawings and is applicable to either form of con- Veyer, and it consists in securing to the lower edge of the sign pins r to project below the lower edge thereof and enter tubular rivets s in case a chain is used for a conveyer, or, .if desired, these'pins may be an integral part of the sign q, as shown in Fig. 8a, they also being indicated by the letter r. When the ribbon-conveyer i is used, holes are punched therein for the sprocketteeth to engage in, one of these holes being shown in Fig. 8a and being indicated by t. ln forming these holes the metal, instead of being punched out entirely, is so punched that it may be bent back upon the ribbon at each end of the hole I I nl whereby the ears u are formed. These are not folded back fiat against the ribbon,but are left, as shown in Fig. 8, in such form as to receive the pins r, whereby the signs q may be held in a vertical position relative to the chain. Y

To facilitate placing signs in their proper positions on the conveyer, the housing m has a slit t formed therein valong its upper edge (see Fig. 6) located, preferably, on one or both sides of the car near one end thereof. A sliding piece w, suitably mounted on the housing and adapted to cover' the slit, maybe applied in any convenient manner. For eX- arnple, as shown in Fig. 6, the upper edge of this slide Vmay be bent to cover the top of the housing and the lower edge may be bent around underneath the bar lc, though any other convenient means may be resorted to for retaining the slide in proper position, or some other more convenient way of covering the slit may be resorted to. Wherever a sign is to be exposed-as, for example, on a car at about the center of each side thereof and at each end-both sides of the housing are cut away to form a rectangular opening therein, which is indicated by x on Fig. l, and these openings preferably are covered with glass, (indicated by y, Fig. 3.) While it is desirable to close these openings with glass, as specified, it is not essential, but is resorted to to protect the interior of the housing from Water and dust. I

From the foregoing description it is seen that a continuous narrow housing extends all of the way around the roof of the car, near the edge thereof, on the closed bottom of which the conveyer supporting the sign may slide and that this conveyer travels in contact with wheels mounted on a shaft whereby the latter may be rotated to move th'e conveyer and signs in the housing, the rotation of one of these wheels causing one sign on the conveyer to move from a position opposite one of the openings a; in the housing and to be replaced by another sign which may be moved into position opposite said opening, and thus at the end of a route all of the signs on the car may be changed simultaneously by the conductor operating from either end of the.

car without it being necessary for the conductor to step off of the platform.

In order that the conductor may see that all of the signs are in their proper places, a sight-hole s may be made through the roof of the car, as shown in Fig. la, whereby the sign may be read through the opening on the rear side of the housing, and obviously if one sign is correctly located on the end of a car all of the other signs will of necessity be also located opposite their proper openings.

If desired, instead of the openingsz through the roof a mirror 2 may be supported on the end of the car in such position that the conductor or motorman may see the sign reected therein. This alternate is provided for the reason that some cars are so constructed that it is not feasible to illumine the signs on the ends of the cars by light from the interior through a window c in the end of the deck, and in such cases the housing will only be cut away on the outside to expose the sign at the front, and hence the sight-hole .z could not be used.

In mounting the housing upon the roof of a car it is made, preferably, of such height that when viewed from the sidewalk the line of sight will pass through the opening a: therein and through the windows d in the deck to the end that the light from the lamps 3, Fig.

IOS

ITO

2 rdof of the deck b, may pass through the Windows'cil and the openings in the housing, and

thus illumine the signs and make them legiy ble after dark. In order to render this illumination more effective, mirrors 4 may be secured to the roof of the deck at such an angle as to properly reflect the light from the l lampsY onto the signs at opposite sides of the car andv also through the end Windows c of the deck.

When it is desired to change the signs in the slit v is uncovered any given housing,

to bring the signs and the conveyor rotated successively under this slit, through which wheel h and the end of it squared up to receive the crank g. In this manner a man may stand on the roof of the car and rotate the conveyor and shift the signs unaided.

It will be observed by referring to Fig. 5 that the height of the sign when it is in operative position on the iiexible conveyor is such that it cannot become disengaged from the conveyer except when it is rotated under the slit 'u in the top of the housing, as at all other points the top of the sign would come iu contact with the housing before the disengagement of the pins r and the conveyor could be effected. Therefore the housing acts as a guide for the signs, whereby the latter are held in a vertical position and are also held in engagement with the conveyor.

Another modification of the invention consists in constructing the metal ribbon t and the sign q from one piece of metal-in other Words, sign and punching the holes t along its lower edge for engagement with the guide wheels or sprockets h. This construction, however, eliminates the interchangeable feature and would thus he practicable only Where the sign was to be used always for one purpose. In Fig. there is shown a modification of the construction as adapted to cars, the said ligure showing a form of construction adapted to be used for advertising a number of articles, which may be described on' a series ot signs secured to a conveyor, all constructed in the same manner as the signs for the cars.

When the construction is devoted to this purpose, however, a lamp 5 must be located in such position back of the signs as to properly illuminate them.

Having thus described my invention, what claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ,of the United States, is-

1. The combination with an endless liexible sign-conveyer extending along both sides and across both ends of a car; signs detachablyl secured thereto; a protective housing for said sign-conveyer, there being openings in the sides and ends of the housing and extending which are usually supported close to the slightly increasing the width of the.

through both walls of the latter throu gh which a portion of said sign may be exposed, and there being another opening in the housing to permit the attachment and detachment of a sign to said conveyor, and means to move the conveyer lengthwise.

2. A car-sign comprising a continuous housing extending along both sides and across both ends of a car, an endless conveyor device located in the housing; wheels to engage the conveyer to impart lengthwise movement thereto, and means to rotate one of the Wheels; there being openings extending through both Walls ot said housing, through which a sign may be exposed, and there being another opening for the introduction and removal of signs, together with signs detachably secured to said conveyer.

3. A display-sign comprising a continuous housing, a lengthwise conveyor device located in the housing, wheels to engage said conveyor and to impart lengthwise movement thereto, and means for rotating o ne of the Wheels; there beingoppositely-located openings through the Walls of the housing together with suitable means for detachably securing the sign to the conveyor.

4. The combination with a car, of a continuous tubular housing secured thereto at or near the edge of the roof, wheels located at the turns made by the housing, a flexible conveyer located Within the housing and engaging said wheels, there being suitable openings in the wall of the housing whereby signs may be displayed in their movements through the latter, together with suitable signs of flexible material supported on the conveyor together with a shaft for one of said wheels.

5. The combination with a car, of a continuous tubular housing secured thereto at or near the edge of the roof, Wheels located at the turnshmade by the housing, a flexibleV conveyor located Within the housing and engaging said Wheels, signs of flexible material detachably secured to said conveyor, and there being openings oppositely located in the wallsof said housing for the display of said signs in their movements through the housings, the said openings being so located as to receivelight from the lamps Within the car.

6. The combination with a car, of a continuons tubular housing secured thereto at or near the edge of the roof, and having suitable openings through the Walls thereof for the display of signs, said housing consisting of a substantially rigid track portion on which the edge of the sign bears, and an inclosing a shaft for rot-ating one of said wheels,

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tubular housing having one or more openings therein through both Walls of the housing, the latter extending along each sideand across each end of a car-roof; a iiexible conveyor device in said housing consisting of a metal ribbon having suitably-spaced perforations therein, guide-Wheels located at the turns in said housing, one or more of which wheels have projections thereon to engage the perforations in said ribbon, suitable shafts for said guide-wheels, one or more of which extends downwardly below the casing to receive a hand-wheel or crank, and signs detachably secured to said conveyer.

8. The combination with a car, of a contin- 

